Merle Haggard – I Threw Away The Rose

“I Threw Away the Rose” is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in February 1967 as the first single from the album Branded Man. The song peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles. In 1994 Lorrie Morgan recorded a version of the song which replaced the “I” in the lyrics with “you”, changing it from a self-referential song to a song about someone else, for the Merle Haggard tribute album Mama’s Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard.

From the album Branded Man
B-side “Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive”
Released February 27, 1967
Genre Country
Length 3:21
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Merle Haggard
Producer(s) Ken Nelson

Merle Haggard – I Threw Away The Rose lyrics

Once I lived the life of wine and roses
And I drank a lot back then for one concern
Success for me lay just around the corner
I thought my social friends would help me make the turn

But now I’m paying for the days of wine and roses
A victim of the drunken life I chose
Now all my social friends look down their noses
‘Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose

I stood by and watched the bottle take control of me
The turn I made was not the one I’d planned
And I watched my social standings slip away from me
While I watched the bottle slowly take command

And now I’m paying for the days of wine and roses
A victim of the drunken life I chose
Now all my social friends look down their noses
‘Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose
‘Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose